The White T-Shirt Experiment

White Tee Lab is an independent long-term project testing white T-shirts in comparison rounds, using everyday wear and repeated washing. You can see how the tees change over time, which ones hold up, and whether the price and brand claims seem justified.

Round Results

ROUND 1 · THE WHITE TEE BASELINE

The Trouble with White T-Shirts

After 1,016 hours of wear and 80 washes, what did eight ordinary white T-shirts reveal about durability, value and supply-chain transparency?

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Latest reviews

UNIQLO — Supima Cotton Crew Neck T-Shirt128 wear hours · 10 washes1DisappointingLoom — Le T-shirt Classique128 wear hours · 10 washes4Very goodSamsøe Samsøe — Kronos O-N SS 273128 wear hours · 10 washes2MixedSANVT — The Perfect T-Shirt125 wear hours · 10 washes3GoodH&M — Regular Fit T-Shirt126 wear hours · 10 washes1DisappointingLevi’s — Original Tee129 wear hours · 10 washes2MixedARKET — 170 GSM Regular T-Shirt126 wear hours · 10 washes3GoodASKET — The T-Shirt126 wear hours · 10 washes4Very good

Currently testing

Round 2 — Lightweights: Eight white T-shirts, ranging from lightweight to exceptionally light fabrics.

CURRENT STATUS · 24 / 80 WASHES COMPLETED · 394 TOTAL WEAR HOURS
A Day’s March — Lightweight T-Shirt3 / 10 washes · 56 wear hoursASKET — The Lightweight T-Shirt3 / 10 washes · 52 wear hoursCOS — Cotton Crew-Neck T-Shirt3 / 10 washes · 43 wear hoursEarth Positive — EP01 Jersey T-shirt3 / 10 washes · 55 wear hoursHartford — Light Crew T-Shirt – White3 / 10 washes · 52 wear hoursMalfini — Origin 171 Organic Cotton T-Shirt3 / 10 washes · 43 wear hoursMerz b. Schwanen — 1950s Loopwheeled Classic Fit Lightweight T-Shirt3 / 10 washes · 53 wear hoursMIDA undici — M6040ORG: Our Essential T-Shirt in Organic Cotton3 / 10 washes · 40 wear hours
View the complete round

Tested beyond the first impression

Each T-shirt is measured and photographed when new, after the first wash and again after ten washes. Wear time is logged along the way, and changes in fit, shape, fabric and construction are recorded as they appear. Supply-chain transparency is assessed alongside the physical testing.

All reviews are fully independent, with brands having no influence over the testing, conclusions or ratings.

Read the methods

The experiment so far

So far, 49 T-shirts have been acquired for the experiment, from brands headquartered in 15 countries across 3 continents.

Reviewed In progress Acquired for future rounds

Headquarters location does not indicate where the cotton was grown or where the T-shirt was manufactured.

As I am based in Europe, European brands are more strongly represented. I will test T-shirts from more parts of the world in future rounds.

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